37. Bringing Many Believers into Glory

Hebrews 2:10 says that God is “leading many sons into glory.” These many sons are the many brothers in Romans 8:29 and the many grains in John 12:24. The last step of God’s great salvation is to bring His many sons into glory, into the expression of God.

38. Sending the Appointed Christ to His Chosen People at the Times of Restoration:

39. Returning to Rebuild the Fallen Tabernacle of David— to Restore the Nation of Israel

40. Setting Up His Kingdom in the Millennium: The kingdom of the Father is the heavenly part of the millennium, the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens as a reward to the overcomers. The “righteous” in this verse are the overcomers, who will be the light shining in the kingdom of their Father. In the heavenly part of the millennium, which will be the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens and the kingdom of the Father, the overcoming saints will reign with Christ as co-kings.

41. Putting All the Enemies under the Feet of Christ at the End of the Millennium

At the end of the millennium God will put all the enemies under the feet of Christ.

42. Abolishing the Last Enemy, Death

The last aspect of God’s work in the new dispensation will be the abolishing of the last enemy, death

D. IN ETERNITY FUTURE

1. As the Redeeming God Administrating within the New Jerusalem in the New Heaven and the New Earth

In these messages we have considered the many aspects of God’s work in eternity past, in the old dispensation, and in the new dispensation. Eventually, God will put all the enemies under the feet of Christ, and He will abolish death, the last enemy. Then everything will be new.

2. Expressing Himself—the Triune God— through the New Jerusalem in the New Heaven and the New Earth:

i. Glorifying the Believers

In His work in the new dispensation God also glorifies the believers. Since glorification will occur in the future, why does Paul use the past tense and say “glorified”? Have you been glorified? Although in our experience we have not been glorified, the Bible says that we have been glorified already. Everything mentioned in verse 30 is an accomplished fact—predestinated, called, justified, and glorified. The reason Paul speaks this way here is that although we are subject to time, God is not.

23. Sending Forth the Spirit of His Son into the Believers’ Hearts: As sons of God we have the position with the full right to participate in the Spirit of God, who has the bountiful supply of life.

24. 24. Giving Life to the Believers:

25. Making the Believers to Grow in Life

26. Operating in the Believers in Life

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27. Operating all Things in the Believers

f. Regenerating the Believers: Regeneration, like redemption and justification, is an aspect of God’s full salvation. Redemption and justification solve our problem with God and reconcile us to God. Regeneration enlivens us with God’s life and brings us into a relationship of life, an organic union, with God.

g. Washing the Believers

First John 1:9 speaks of God’s cleansing, or washing, the believers: Whereas to be forgiven is to be released from the offense of our sins, to be cleansed is to be washed from the stain of unrighteousness.

h. Sanctifying the Believers

In his work in the new dispensation God also sanctifies the believers: “sanctified” means set apart, separated unto God, from things common or profane/wicked. However, to be sanctified involves more than being separated from a common, worldly position to a position that is for God, as illustrated in Matthew 23:17 and 19

In this message we shall consider more aspects of God’s work in the new dispensation.

22. Calling, Forgiving, Justifying, Reconciling, Receiving, Regenerating, Washing, Sanctifying, and Glorifying the Believers

God’s work includes His calling, forgiving, justifying, reconciling, receiving, regenerating, washing, sanctifying, and glorifying the believers. Let us briefly consider these matters one by one.

a. Calling the Believers: To be called into the fellowship of God’s Son is to be called into the partaking of, the participating in, His Son. This is to be called to partake of and to participate in the all-inclusive Christ.

b. Forgiving the Believers

In addition to calling us, God has forgiven us. This means God will forget our sins. To forgive means to forget, for the forgetting of sins is the real forgiveness of sins.

c. Justifying the Believers

A number of verses in Romans speak of God justifying the believers. Justification is God’s action in approving people according to His standard of righteousness. God’s righteousness is the standard, not ours.

d. Reconciling the Believers

God has also reconciled us to Himself.

20. Pouring Out His Spirit Economically upon His Slaves

After God seated Christ in the heavens, made Him both Lord and Christ, exalted Him to be a Leader and a Savior, made Him the High Priest, and designated Him to be the Judge of the living and the dead, He poured out His Spirit upon His slaves.

The pouring out of the Spirit here differs from the breathing of the Spirit into the disciples out of the mouth of Christ on the day of His resurrection (John 20:22). The pouring out of God’s Spirit was from the heavens after Christ’s ascension. The former is the essential aspect of the Spirit breathed into the disciples as life for their living; the latter is the economical aspect of the Spirit poured out upon them as power for their work. The same Spirit is both within the believers essentially and upon them economically.

21. Sending the Resurrected Christ to His Chosen People

After God poured out the consummated Spirit upon the Body of Christ, He sent the resurrected Christ back to His chosen people.

Christ as God’s Servant had ascended to the heavens and was still there. Nevertheless, Peter told the people that God had sent Christ to bless them. Actually, God has received Christ into the heavens. But here Peter says that God has sent this ascended One to the people.

In this message we shall continue to see God’s work in His new administrative arrangement, particularly in Christ’s ascension.

15. Seating Christ in the Heavens, Subjecting All Things under His Feet, and Giving Him to Be Head over All Things to the Church

16. Making Jesus Both Lord and Christ

God has made Christ the Lord not only of God’s chosen people but also of the angels and of all those who will be in the millennium and in the new heaven and new earth. This means that Christ has been made the Lord of the heavens, the earth, and of everything and everyone He has redeemed.

17. Exalting Jesus to Be a Leader and Savior, to Give His Chosen People Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins

Repentance is for forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4). On God’s side, forgiveness of sins is based upon His redemption (Eph. 1:7). On man’s side, forgiveness of sins is through repentance. Now we need to repent and receive forgiveness. Repentance and forgiveness are two steps by which we are made ready to receive the dispensing of the Triune God so that we may be the church.

18. Making Christ the High Priest

Sin frustrates people from enjoying God’s dispensing. When God condemned sin in the flesh through the death of Christ in the flesh (Rom. 8:3), He dealt with this hindrance to His dispensing. When Christ was crucified, God also wiped out the handwriting in ordinances (Col. 2:14) and stripped off the rulers and authorities, making a display of them openly and triumphing over them in the cross (Col. 2:15). After this, God raised up Christ from the dead, seated Him in the heavens, subjected all things under His feet, and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church (Eph. 1:20-22). God has also made Jesus both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). Furthermore, He has exalted Jesus to be a Leader and Savior so that He may give His chosen people repentance and forgiveness of sins (Acts 5:31). Now we need to see that, in His work, God has made Christ the High Priest.

19. Designating Christ to Be the Judge of the Living and the Dead

.” Christ has been designated, by God, the Judge of all mankind. He will judge both the living and the dead. At His coming back the resurrected Christ will be the Judge of the living before the millennium on His throne of glory (Matt. 25:31-46). This is related to His second coming (2 Tim. 4:1). Christ will also be the Judge of the dead after the millennium on the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). Thus, Romans 2:16 says, “God shall judge the secrets of men…by Jesus Christ.”

11. Wiping Out the Handwriting in Ordinances by Nailing It to the Cross

When Christ was crucified, God wiped out the handwriting in ordinances, nailing it to the cross.

Ordinances, rituals, and ceremonies of the law have been crucified in Christ’s death. Not only were sin, the natural man, the world, and Satan crucified; the law was also crucified. As evil men were putting Christ on the cross, God was nailing the law to the cross. Although the law had been given by God through angels, God Himself nailed it to the cross of Christ.

12. Stripping Off the Rulers and the Authorities, Making a Display of Them Openly, and Triumphing Over Them in the Cross.

When Christ was on the cross, God not only wiped out the ordinances of the law, but also stripped off the rulers and the authorities and made a display of them openly, triumphing over them. The rulers and the authorities are evil angels, fallen angels that are subordinates of Satan working for him.

13. Raising Up Christ from the Dead

In His work God also raised up Christ from the dead. Although the Author of life, Christ, as the Originator of life, had been killed, God raised Him from the dead.

14. Sending His Spirit Essentially in the Son’s Name

In John 14:26 the Lord told the disciples that the Father will send the Holy Spirit as the Comforter in His name. This took place in Christ’s resurrection. Through Christ’s resurrection God sent His Spirit essentially in the Son’s name. The Son came in the Father’s name (John 5:43), because the Son and the Father are one (10:30).

As part of His work in His new administrative arrangement, or economy, God condemned sin in the flesh through the death of Christ in the flesh. The phrase “the likeness of the flesh of sin” contains three important words: likeness, flesh, and sin. To say only “the flesh of sin” would indicate sinful flesh. Paul, however, adds “in the likeness,” indicating that in Christ’s human nature there was no sin, even though that nature did bear the likeness, the appearance, of the flesh of sin.

10. Tearing the Veil to Open the Way to the Holy of Holies

When the Lord Jesus was crucified, God tore the veil to open the way to the Holy of Holies.

The way into the Holy of Holies has been cut. The Greek word translated “new” in this verse means freshly slain. Through Christ’s death on the cross, the way has been freshly slain for us. What was slain? Not only the flesh but the entire old creation. In this verse, the veil, which is Christ’s flesh, signifies the old creation, including us.